Return of the Shadow League
by packleader96
Summary: Twilight and Flame are now living happily married, but when an ancient evil, older than Discord returns, it is up to them to stop it, before it destroys everything they know and love. rated T for violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back with the second installment of the guardian series; let us see the continuing adventures of Twilight and Flame.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any MLP characters; they belong to their respective owner's.**

**Return of the Shadow League: chapter 1: the return of darkness**

It was a calm and beautiful night in the everfree forest, and an unusually chilly wind, blew through the silent tree's, the animals had gone to sleep for the night. A mysterious black pony came slowly walking out of the tree line.

As he passed by, the flower's underneath his hooves wilted, as if he was death itself, and that he was, when he came to the middle of the clearing, the bright moon shined down on him, his coat was pure black, with a very dark blue mane, if one saw him, they might say he was the male opposite of nightmare moon.

He looked up, from where he was standing; he could see the capital of Equestria, Canterlot. He had personal business to attend to there, he lost his train of thought when he heard another set of hooves approaching from behind, his sharp senses, could hear the crunch of the grass, beneath the newcomer's hooves.

Well, it is a beautiful night, isn't it sir" he said coming up on the taller one's side, the taller pony, was an alicorn like the princess's, but they were so different, he didn't turn his head, but still acknowledged his presence, "yes it is, but it's a shame it won't last" he said looking at the city, off in the distance.

"Such a pity, Skyfall failed in his one simple mission, we received reports, that he was killed by his apprentice, one named Flame" he said looking up at the taller one, "yes well, he will be dealt with, soon enough, but for now, we have one goal, are the troops ready?" he asked finally looking down at the smaller one.

"Yes sir, all ready for the invasion, they won't see us coming" he said with a smile, "excellent work Night Wing, you never fail me, gather them all together, and begin the assault" he said as he turned his attention back to the castle.

"Yes, Master Shadow Blaze" he said as he turned and walked back into the forest, the taller one turned his head back to the town, "the time has come, for my revenge" he said to himself as he turned and walked back to the forest.

**A/N: wow, the first chapter and already the intensity increases, more will be on the way soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: like I said before, I'm back, everybody enjoy.**_

_**Return of the Shadow League: chapter 2: midnight assault**_

It had been over three months, since the attack on canterlot, from the assassins guild, and progress went very smoothly, the princess's had been busy all day, going over the final repairs of the town, the castle itself was the first to be fully rebuilt, to its former glory.

Princess Celestia, found herself walking down, the hall that led to the library, when she opened it, with her magic, she came in and saw her younger sister, calmly reading a book, on recent equestrian history, with a large stack of books close by, she had just finished raising the moon, and went immediately back to her reading.

"I think you have done enough reading for the night Luna" she said walking up to her younger sister, Luna smiled and put the book down, "yes, well I need to catch up, I'm still a thousand years behind, it will take some time to finish" she said turning her attention back to her book.

"There isn't much to know" Celestia said, trying to convince her sister, but she didn't take it, "are you kidding, you did many great things" her sister replied back, still not turning her attention away from the book.

Celestia was about to speak, but was cut off by a loud rumbling sound, that shook the library, and the large chandelier, above them, began to fade on and off "what was that?" Luna asked, finally putting the book down, and standing up, and walking up to her sister.

"I don't know, but it can't be good" she said in a worried tone, another quake shook the library, nearly knocking the royal sisters off their hooves, this was followed by another, they began to sound much closer, much to their fear.

Suddenly the shacking stopped, and the large room fell silent, the books had fallen off of the shelves, due to the shaking, after another few moments of silence, Luna was about to speak, when the door, suddenly flew open, and one of the royal guards came crashing to the ground in front of them, his armor was full of scratch and burn marks, he had cuts all over his body, followed by many bruises, he had been severely injured, by something, or somepony.

He raised his head, and looked up at the princess's, who had completely shocked expressions, "guard, what is going on out there, and what happened to you?" Celestia asked him, he looked her in the eyes, "your highness…run, go get out of here before it's too late" he said in a weak voice, Luna was about to ask what he meant, but he fell down and his body went limp, they could tell he was dead.

They turned their attention back to the door, as it flew open again, multiple masked ponies came, rushing in, all armed with crossbows, they took a spot and pointed them at the princess's, but they did not fire, "what is the meaning of this!" Celestia demanded in a raised voice.

They refused to answer, so she was about to ask again, but was cut off, by a new pony, much taller than the others, walking in, followed by another shorter one. "Well, Celestia and Luna, it's been a long time, so good to see you again" he said as he stopped in front of the armed ponies.

"Who are you?" Celestia asked, getting in a defensive position, "you mean you don't remember me, that's hurtful, let's try this, think back, way back, to the great war" he said with a smile on his face, Celestia didn't understand, what he meant, but something about this Alicorn, seemed very familiar, and not in the good way.

Suddenly her eyes widened, in sheer terror, "no…no, it can't be" she said backing up, "oh but it is, you thought, after you stopped me, that I would remain in prisoned forever, just look at how Discord escaped, you knew this day was coming, and you did nothing to prepare for it" he said his smile disappeared completely from his face.

Suddenly they heard, shouting from the other side of the room, and the door flew open, revealing none other than Shining Armor, followed quickly by a hoof full of ponies, and Princess Cadence, "your highness!" he said as he got in front of her, in a defensive position, this amused Shadow, who just broke out in laughter.

"well, you must be the famous, Shining Armor, the best captain of the royal guard in equestrian history" he said in a mocking tone, this only made him angrier, "who are you, what do you want" he asked the towering figure, "oh it's really quite simple, I am here for my revenge, and to take what is rightfully mine, the throne" he said turning his attention, back to the princess's, who still had fear filled eyes.

Shining Armor, made a critical mistake, as he pulled out a crossbow, and shot off the arrow, loaded on it, straight at Shadow Blaze, he smiled and held up his hoof, the arrow struck his hoof, but reflected, off and hit the nearby wall, surprising him, Shadow just smiled.

"come now, I expected better from you" he said, now really angry, Shining Armor unsheathed his knife, and charged head first at him, Shadow, remained completely calm, as Shining Armor, jumped into the air, Shadow raised his hoof, and brought it hard, across his face, knocking Shining Armor, a good five feet away, he crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Shining Armor! No!" Princess Cadence cried as she ran to her husband's side, Celestia looked on In fear, she turned to face Shadow, with an angry glare, she closed her eyes, and her horn glowed, it let off a bright flash, one that blinded Shadow Blaze and his soldiers, with them distracted, she turned and ran to Shining Armor.

Shining Armor, had managed to get up, just in time to see the princess's coming towards him, "are you okay?" she asked with concern, "don't worry about me your highness, I'm fine" he said getting support from his wife.

"Shining Armor, listen close, you need to go, take Cadence, and leave" she said looking down at him, "what, no…I swore an oath to protect you" he said refusing, to leave her, "listen, he's too strong, for you, but we can hold him off, and give you a chance, go to ponyVille, find your sister, they are the only ones who can help us now, I will contact you soon" she said getting up, Shining Armor, understood, and got up, he grabbed his wife's hoof, and told the squad to fall back, Celestia turned to her sister, and nodded, Luna, understanding what she meant, turned and walked back to the fight.

Shadow Blaze, had still been distracted by, the flash, finally regained focus, after it dimmed, revealing Celestia and Luna, shadow laughed at their bravery, "how noble of you, to send them away, when they can't hide forever, do you really think you can beat me" he said challenging them.

"no, but we will do what we can" Celestia said, as she took off in the air, and used her magic, the tip of her horn glowed, as it shot out a powerful blast of magic, it was heading straight for Shadow, who remained unusually calm, he smiled as it hit him, creating a small black cloud, from the impact.

For a moment Celestia, actually believed, she defeated him, but she knew he ever gave up that easily, out of nowhere, he flew up in the air, higher than Celestia, and shot a black beam from the tip of his horn, before she could react, the beam hit her at full force, knocking her out instantly, she crashed to the floor, with a thud.

"Tia!" Luna cried as she landed next to her unconscious sister, as Shadow landed, he laughed, "oh please, that was barely anything compared to my true power" he said laughing, "you monster, you will pay for this!" Luna said, as she charged forward, Shadow repeated the same motion, as Shining Armor, and smacked her hard, against the face, also knocking her unconscious as well, she landed right next to her sister.

he walked up to them and laughed, "take them away, we have new plans to make" he said walking out onto the balcony, and looking up at the moon, he heard Night Wing, come out from behind, "sir, during, your little battle, we had a chance to go through the princess's file's and we have found some interesting knowledge" he said calmly, "well speak" Shadow said not facing him, "we found that she has a student named Twilight Sparkle, and that her friends, represent the Elements of Harmony, but that isn't the best part, her husband happens to be the one who killed Skyfall" he said still calm.

"Really, you're right that is interesting, so some new pieces have been added to the game, let's pay this student of hers a little visit" he said walking back into the library, quickly followed by Night Wing.

**A/N: well the first bit of action, the suspense builds up slowly; find out what happens to Twilight next time.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: chapter three is up, so enjoy everybody.**

**Return of the Shadow League: chapter 3: The Nightmare**

(Twilight's dream)

Twilight found herself, walking through the streets of ponyVille, in the dead of the night, the moon shined brightly in the sky, as it always did, and a thin layer of fog, crept through the streets, and there wasn't a single sign of life, anywhere.

Twilight couldn't remember how she got there, but she didn't seem to care, an unusual chill blew past her, causing her to shiver, "wish I had a jacket" she said to herself, as she made her way home, but was stopped when she heard an eerie laugh come from behind her, she quickly turned around, but saw nothing, so she dismissed it as her imagination.

Until she heard another eerie voice come from in front of her, "Twilight" she heard the voice, say in a creepy way that sent a chill down her spine, she looked around, trying to identify the source, and she found herself, in the dead center of town square.

Out of nowhere, a strong blast, flew past her, and this time she knew it wasn't the wind, she thought she felt it touch her, as if trying to get her attention, she looked ahead, and saw a strange masked pony, staring at her, from around the corner, her blood ran cold, but she did her best to remain calm, "is somepony there, Flame is that you" she asked the figure, but instead of answering, it turned around and ran down the street.

"Hey come back" she yelled as she took off in pursuit, when she turned the corner, she saw the figure, standing calmly, in front of the library, "Twilight" it said again in the same eerie voice, the figure backed up into the library and closed the door.

Now angry at this figure, Twilight ran in, and bursts open the door, only to see complete blackness, nothing but a single candle lit the room, but not enough for her to see, so she quietly made her way around, after a few steps, she felt her hoof get wet from some liquid, she couldn't see it, but it felt thick and warm.

Suddenly the candle flared up, causing other candle's in the room, revealing a sight that scared Twilight beyond anything she ever could have imagined, before her eyes lay her five friends, all sprawled on the floor, bleeding from wounds in the neck, he could instantly tell that they were dead, their eyes stared at nothing but still wide open.

Twilight cried out in terror, as she realized she stepped in blood, she stared, speechless, at the horrific sight before, her, she noticed the elements necklace, lay around their necks, soaked in the puddles of blood beneath them.

Suddenly the room went black, and a single light, from an unknown source, shined down, revealing a pony Twilight did not know. "Hello Twilight Sparkle" it said turning to face her, Twilight worked up the courage to ask, "Who are you?" she asked in a fearful voice, and the figure chuckled, and approached her.

"My name is Night Wing" he said in a calm voice, Twilight slowly backed up, "what do you want?" she asked, trying to sound brave, but Night Wing could see right through her, "it's amazing really, how a unicorn as young as you, came to control a power, as strong as the elements" he said ignoring her question.

Twilight decided to turn and run, but before she could leave, the door slammed in her face, she turned around, and found the face of Night Wing, mere inches from hers. "You can't escape from us, we will find you, and destroy everything you hold dear, you can't stop us, you are too weak" he said, staring into her eyes, with his evil glare.

Twilight tried to shut him out, by closing her eyes, and covering her ears, but it didn't work, when she opened them, she found herself, on the outskirts of ponyVille, on top of a hill.

When she looked to the side, she saw the town she loved most, burning to the ground, before her eyes, not a single sign of life, everything was destroyed, the fear and sadness became too much, as she closed her eyes and screamed.

(Reality)

Twilight woke up, with a start; she found herself breathing heavily, and beads of sweat rolling down her face, she looked around the room, and found herself, safe in her bedroom, she felt movement next to her, and looked to the side, she saw her husband Flame fast asleep, while snoring lightly, Twilight's breathing became more relaxed, as she climbed out of bed, and slowly made her way to the balcony, trying not to wake Flame up.

When she slipped outside, she walked to the edge, and looked up at the moon, and saw it shining brightly as ever, she sighed, as a cool breeze blew through her mane, causing her the shiver, the words, of the mysterious pony, still echoed off in her head.

She was interrupted, by the door opening behind her, and a set of hooves walking up next to her, she felt a hoof on her shoulder, and looked up to see her husband, looking at her worriedly, the sight of him, always calmed her down, "hey, what are you doing out here, it's late, and freezing" Flame asked her, as he put a blanket around her.

"Nothing I'm fine, just can't sleep that's all" she said trying to convince herself more than Flame, "you had that nightmare again didn't you" he asked worry evident in his voice.

Twilight knew, she couldn't lie to him, and get away with it, so she just nodded her head, Flame sighed and turned her to face him, "that's the third time this week, you know you can tell me anything, were married now, we agreed no more secrets" Flame said, while looking her in the eyes, Twilight turned away and looked back at the moon.

"yes, it was that dream again, I was walking through town at night, when I felt a strange presence watching me, I followed it back here, and I found…my friends…dead, all lying on the floor, their throats slashed open, bleeding, and then a strange pony, telling me I couldn't stop it, that it was destined to happen, I tried to shut him out, but when I opened my eyes I saw ponyVille,…burning, everpony dead, I can still hear his voice in my head, it was so horrible" she said as she started to cry.

Flame wrapped his hooves around her in a comforting hug, "it was only a nightmare, were all fine, I'm not going to let anything happen to you, or your friends, because I'm your husband, and I love you" he said kissing her on the lips, Flame always had a way to make her feel better, and that was one of them.

"Come on, let's go back to sleep" he said leading her inside, as he closed the door, Twilight still had a feeling, that something terrible had happened, or was about to happen, but thanks to Flame's comforting words, she managed to fall asleep, and get good night sleep.

**A/N: well that's it for now, see you next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: well here' the next chapter, hope you all enjoy.**

**Return of the Shadow League: chapter 4: Disturbing News**

The next day, following Twilight's nightmare, seemed like any other normal day, Flame had left for his new job, and Twilight stayed behind, and tended to the library, Flame had managed to get a job, working for the mayor of ponyVille, his job was to be her secretary, and messenger, he often had to travel to Canterlot, for a day, and came back at night, he grew tired of it, but still managed.

Twilight was walking around the library, rearranging some of the books, when she looked at the clock, "oh shoot" she said as she finished up her task, and turned to her assistant, "Spike, watch the library, while I'm gone" she said as she ran out the door.

"Okay, Twilight" he said back, spike had grown older, and was no longer a baby dragon, he was taller, but still not quite as tall as Twilight and Flame.

Twilight agreed to meet Flame, at sugarcube corner, for their lunch break, Twilight was almost late, when she reached the shop, she saw Flame already standing outside, "hey there you are" he said as she came up to him, and kissed her on the cheek, "sorry, got a bit caught up" she said smiling as they walked in, and took a seat, when Pinkie Pie, walked up to them.

"Hey Twilight, what can I get you two" she said, just as excited as ever, "I think we'll just have, two slices of chocolate cake" Flame said with a smile, Pinkie, immediately took off into the kitchen, and reappeared with two plates, both with a large slice of chocolate cake on it.

Twilight and Flame, thanked their friend, and immediately, started eating, to them it was the best thing they had ever tasted, nopony made better desserts than the Cake family, during their eating, Flame looked up at his wife, "so Twilight, I was thinking, we should take a trip to Canterlot, and visit your brother, eat at a fancy restraint, visit the Princess, what do you think" he said with a smile.

Twilight stopped eating and looked up at him, and smiled back, "sure, it's been at least a month, since we've seen Shining Armor, I think that's a great idea" she said, turning back to her cake, Flame was about to respond, but suddenly a pony burst in, catching everypony's attention.

"the Captain of the Royal Guard just arrived, the Mayor has called for an immediate town meeting, everpony is to come" he said before leaving, quickly the customers followed, him out the door, Twilight turned to Flame, "what's going on?" she asked worried, Flame shared her feelings, "I don't know, but your brother's here, so it must be important, let's go find out" he said as they followed the crowd outside.

(PonyVille, town square)

Everpony from the town, had filled up, town square, as they all tried to find a place to watch the mayor. As soon as they all arrived the mayor stepped up, and cleared her throats, "attention, everpony, I have called you all hear now, because I have received some shocking news, I have hear with me, captain of the royal guard, Shining Armor, and his wife Princess Cadence, Captain" she said gesturing to the pony, beside her, indeed, Twilight's brother stepped up, to the podium, and cleared his throat.

"attention, citizens of ponyVille, I am here to inform you that we are again at war" he said, and when he did, the crowd, erupted into confused shouts, but he remained calm, "it is my duty to inform you, that…Canterlot has been attacked" he said, and the crowd, repeated the same motion, "in the early hours of last night, a group of ponies, attacked the capital, we do not yet know who these ponies are, but rest assured the Princesses are safe, survivors of the attack, have been evacuated, and sent to other cities, until this matter is resolved, if any of you, can provide food and shelter, come and see my lieutenant, all I ask is that you remain calm, until this problem is resolved, that is all" he said as he left the podium, and walked away, leaving a very confused and scared crowd.

Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, she began to remember her feeling, that something bad had happened, and now her suspicions were correct, Twilight had to talk to her brother, "come on, Flame" she said grabbing his hoof, and leading him to behind the stage.

They found Shining Armor and Cadence talking to the mayor and some other ponies, "Shining Armor, Cadence!" Twilight shouted, as they ran to them, they both turned their attention to the approaching ponies, the look on their faces was overjoyed, Shining Armor smiled as his little sister ran up and hugged him.

"Twilight it's so good to see you, were sorry we couldn't tell you of our arrival, but as you probably heard, things are bad" he said sadly, but still hugging her, "oh please tell me, that it's not true" she said, as she let go and looked up at him, his look only made her feel worse.

"I wish it was, but we were there, we saw it happen" he said turning to Flame, and shook his hoof, "good to see you again Flame" he said changing his attitude, "same here" Flame said with a smile, "come one, let's go back to the library" Twilight said as they began to search for her friends, and head back home.

(PonyVille, public library)

They all sat in the living room, as Twilight made them all a cup of tea, when she reappeared levitating a whole tray, she set it down and took a seat next to her husband, "don't you think it, might have been the guild" she said looking up at Flame, and then to her brother, "no, the guild is finished, even if they were around, they wouldn't have the numbers to pull a full scale assault, off that easily" Shining Armor said, with a sad look.

"Well there must be somepony behind it" impatient Applejack said as she sipped her tea, "you must have some idea, who it was" Flame said looking at Shining Armor, before he could answer, Spike came rushing into the room, obviously out of breath, he sat their catching his breath, as all the ponies in the room stared at him.

He tried to look up and speak, but suddenly his cheeks, puffed out, and he burped out a, small burst of fire, and then a note, rolled up, with the royal seal and all, landed on the table in front of them, the first to react was Twilight, who levitated it up to her face, and opened it, what she saw inside, shocked her as , her eyes widened, she turned her attention to her brother, with a worried look, "it's from Princess Celestia" she said as she got up, and turned back to the note, "but that's impossible we saw her get captured" Shining Armor said, as they all got up, and walked over to Twilight, who had turned around, and cleared her throat, ready to read the letter.

"_My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,_

_As I wright this letter to you, my time dwindles fast, so I must be brief. I am sure by now you have received the news, from your brother, about the attack, rest assured, my sister and I are fine, but the truth, is not so much, indeed, Canterlot was attacked by an old enemy of ours, his name is Shadow Blaze, this enemy is far more powerful, than anything you have faced before._

_It is up to you to stop him, but you can't do it alone, I have sent a friend to find you, please meet him on the outside of ponyVille, at midnight, tonight, he will help you in your quest to stop Shadow Blaze, the fate of Equestria, once again rest in your hooves._

_Yours truly Princess Celestia"_

When Twilight finished reading the letter, her eyes widened, as she turned to her friends, who all shared her reaction, except for Shining Armor and Cadence, "so what do we do now?" Flame asked stepping forward," if the Princess say's this stranger can help us, then we have to do it, everpony meet back here before midnight" Shining Armor said, as he left, followed by his wife, soon all the others left, leaving only Twilight and Flame alone.

(Outside PonyVille)

Twilight and her friends, again met up at the library, twenty minutes to midnight, after leaving they made their way to the outskirts, and found themselves facing, the shadows, of the Everfree forest, a faint layer of fog, came from the trees, as they waited for this mysterious pony.

"well, its midnight, where is this pony supposed to be" Flame said getting impatient, he got his answer, when they heard the sound of hooves coming towards them, they started looking in all directions, until they saw a strange hooded figure, emerging from the fog, he slowly approached them, none of them could make out his face, because of he kept his hood up, and his head slightly down.

When he finally reached them, he stopped and, lifted his head; an intense silence fell over them, so Twilight decided to break it, "are you the one, Princess Celestia sent" she asked, nervously, he turned his attention to her, and stared her in the eyes, and slowly walked up to face her, this action made Flame, cautious, as he readied a weapon, he decided to conceal.

When he reached her, he looked deep into her eyes and brought his hoof up to his hood, and slowly slid it off, revealing a pony, with a dark grey coat, and a light red mane, Twilight could instantly tell that he was a unicorn, but she didn't really care.

"Yes I am, my name is Silver Heart, and it is a great honor to meet you in person, Miss Sparkle" he said taking her hoof and lightly kissing it, making her blush, and Flame to be even more cautious.

"Well Mister Silver, this is my husband Flame" she said looking up at him, Flame hesitated for a minute, but extended out his hoof, which Silver shook quickly, "this is my Brother and Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, and his wife, Princess Cadence" Twilight said, gesturing to the stallion to her left.

"an honor it is" he said shacking both their hooves, and turning his attention back to Twilight, "and these are my friends" she said gesturing to the last five, after all introducing themselves, Silver spoke up, "it's the greatest honor to meet all of you, I am here to help, but before you ask any questions, is there a place where we can speak in private" he said looking at all them.

"Yeah, there's the library" she said, but before she could give any other options he started walking in the direction of town, they quickly followed him.

(PonyVille, public library)

When they all arrived, they patiently waited for Silver to explain himself, "excuse me, Mister Silver, why did the Princess send you, she says you can help us" Twilight said, watching him, as he walked around the library, obviously lost in thought, her comment got his attention, "ah yes, I owe you all an explanation, you see, I am the leader of a secret group known as the Guardians.

This surprised, Shining Armor, "what, I'm the leader of the Royal Guard, and I have never heard of your group" he said stepping forward, "that's because officially we don't exist, the only ones who know of us, are the princess's" he said turning his attention to the Captain.

He cleared his throat, and continued, "the Guardians, are a secret organization, that goes as far back, as the beginning of Equestria, our sole purpose, is to protect and serve the Elements of Harmony, and those who control their power" he said turning to Twilight and her friends.

"Now that I have met your family, allow me to introduce you to mine" he said clapping his hooves on the floor, as if on cue the room filled with a bright flash, forcing all of them, to cover their eyes, when it stopped, and they looked, they saw three more hooded ponies, standing in the middle of the room.

They all took off their hoods, revealing a young mare, a young colt, and an older stallion, the first thing the saw, was that two of them were unicorns, and one was a Pegasus, Silver walked to each of them, "this is my family, this here, is Sapphire, she is my second in command, and also my beautiful wife" he said walking up to the mare, and smiling, which she returned, "an honor, to meet the Elements in person" she said taking a bow, he then walked up to the younger colt, who was slightly shorter than the mare.

"this is our son, Comet" he said, putting a hoof on his son's shoulder, he took a bow, "it is truly grateful, to be in your presence" he said returning to his former position, they nodded to him, and turned to the last one, the Pegasus, "this is my third in command, an my uncle, Sky Breeze" he said with a smile, and he turned to them.

"yes it is all nice to meet your family, but we need a plan, how do we stop Shadow Blaze" Twilight said, worriedly, Silver's smile disappeared, as he walked away, followed by his wife and son, "there is only one way to defeat him, and it isn't easy, if you want to stop him, we must leave here tomorrow" he said walking up to Twilight.

"What, but why?" she asked, he just looked at her and turned away, and walked to the window, "if Shadow's forces, have attacked Canterlot, then they have already, discovered your identities, and your location, it's likely they are already on their way here, and if they are, they will destroy anything in their path to get to you" he said looking out the window, and too the ruined city of Canterlot, off in the distance.

"hold on, I'm the captain of the Royal Guard, I'm the one in charge here" Shining Armor said, stepping forward, "yes, and you're doing a fantastic job, but this is what we specialize in" Silver said, walking up to him, even though, Shining Armor was slightly taller, Silver had the upper hoof here, the others looked on in awe, as the two stallions argued.

"okay, since you say you serve the Elements, why not let them decide" Flame said looking at them, and turning to Twilight and her friends, "Silver, he has a point" Sapphire said, walking up to her husband, he looked at her and sighed, "very well, we leave the choice up to you" he said walking up to Twilight.

She looked around nervously, as all eyes rested on her, she sighed and turned to look Silver in the eyes, "we will go with you" she said, which made Silver smile, "excellent, we will be back tomorrow, at sunset, pack only essentials, meet us on the outskirts of town, we will leave from there" he said as he turned and walked out the door, followed by the others.

"well, better not waste time, ah am going home to get some sleep and start packing" Applejack said, as she also walked out the door, followed by Twilight friends, leaving only Twilight, Flame, Shining Armor, and Cadence alone, Shining Armor turned to his sister, and said, "I hope you are right about doing this" he said before he said goodnight, and headed out the door, followed by Cadence, now it was only Twilight and Flame. They looked at each other and nodded their heads, and went up to their room, to get a good night sleep.

**A/N: well something tells me, that Silver and Shining Armor, are not going to get along, but find out next time, see you then.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: well, here's the next chapter.**

**Return of the Shadow League: chapter 5: the journey begins**

After their late night meeting, with the mysterious unicorn, named Silver Heart, Twilight and Flame did, exactly as they were told they had gone to sleep for the night, knowing they had a big day ahead of them.

They spent the following day, packing essential, items, for they journey, they had a hard time deciding, because Silver, gave no specification, as to where they were going, but they had no choice, but to guess, they were up in their room, packing supplies, Flame had trouble concentrating.

He took a break from packing his saddle bag, and sat on the bed, with a heavy sigh, Twilight noticed this, and walked up to him, with a worried expression, "hey Flame, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting next to him, he sighed, again and turned to her, "I don't know, it's something about this Silver character, something about him, I don't trust" he said looking in her eyes, with a serious face.

Twilight, simply chuckled, and looked at him, "Flame, now your being paranoid, if the princess trusts him, then that's good enough for me" she said getting up, and returning to her previous task.

Flame, looked away, he knew she was right, but something at the back of his mind, something that was nagging at him, but he decided to trust her judgment, and also resumed his packing, earlier, they went around town, Flame had to tell the mayor, that he wouldn't be there, she understood, and gave him a vacation, which in truth was a secret mission, given to them by the Princess.

After they finished packing, they decided to rest for the day, until their friends arrived, before sunset. The sun started to slowly descend on the horizon, and as they rested in the living room, talking to each other, they heard a knock on the front door.

Flame was the first to get up, and went to open the door, when he did, he was greeted, by Shining Armor and Cadence, standing outside, he kindly invited them in, and as he did, they were quickly followed by the rest of Twilight's friends, much to their surprise.

"Wow, you all made it early" Twilight said, surprised, Shining Armor walked up to her, "yeah, well we decided to get here early, so we can all prepare, for our little journey" he said with a smile on his face. There they waited, for about an hour, before Twilight looked out the window, and to the horizon.

"Well everpony, its sundown, better get moving" Twilight said over her friends talking, they all looked at her and nodded, and they slowly made their way to the door, Twilight turned around, and took one last look around the library, before she closed the door, and followed her friends, to the outskirts of town.

(Outside of ponyVille)

When they arrived, the sun had nearly fully set, in the distance. As they cleared the hill, they saw three figures waiting for them, at the top. When they got there, they recognized them as, Silver, with his wife and son.

He smiled at them, as they got closer, "you made it, good" he said, turning his attention to Twilight, as they came up to him, "well, were very punctual" she answered back, with a smile, as they stopped in front of him.

"Wait, where's your uncle?" Flame said, looking around for the other pony, who was not present, at the time, Silver turned to him, "my uncle, is back at the camp, he's waiting for us" Silver said as they turned around, and led the way, "we have a long journey ahead of us, and it is very dangerous" he said, as they continued walking.

As they approached the shadows of the forest, they all fell silent, Silver turned to his wife, she turned and nodded her head, he understood what she meant, and stopped, letting her, go forward, as they all passed, he saw Twilight and Flame, talking to each other, when they reached him, he cleared his throat.

"excuse me, mister Flame, might I have a word, with you alone?" he asked, Flame, turned to Twilight, who just nodded, and walked on, Flame then turned his attention back to Silver, he had a solemn expression, on his face.

"I see, you want to be with your wife, so I won't keep you long, I just wanted to say, I know you don't trust me, and you have every right not too" he said, as they started walking, "well, I…it's just with everything that's going on, I have been worried about Twilight's safety, and other things" he said trying not to offend Silver, who just looked at him.

"I understand your concern, but believe me when I say, that I am not your enemy, I am truly here to help, I promise, I have no intention to harm you or your wife" Silver said stopping them, and turned to him, Flame looked him in the eyes, and nodded his head, signaling that he understood.

"good, now come, we need to get to camp, before night fall" Silver said, walking ahead at a brisk pace, making Flame run to catch up to him.

(2 hours later)

As the group, made their way, through the forest, the sun had nearly set, leaving only darkness, but luckily Silver, knew the path, and eventually they came to a clearing in the forest, and they saw a large camp, full of tents, and camp fires, burning in the middle, they were greeted by an older stallion, who walked up to them from the camp.

"Silver, glad to see you made it, we were thinking of sending a group to find you" Sky Breeze said laughing, Silver returned his action, and turned around to face the group behind him, "okay, you all have your own tents, Twilight and Flame will sleep in one, Shining armor and Princess Cadence will sleep in another, and for you five you can choose any one you like" he said, gesturing towards Twilight's friends, "dinner, shall be in one hour, feel free to unpack your belongings, and get settled in" he said, turning back to his uncle, and walking past him, followed by his wife and son.

Twilight and her friends all turned to face each other, with confused looks, but they shrugged it off, and went to go choose their tents.

When Twilight and Flame, had chosen their tent, they walked inside, and were shocked completely by the sight before them, indeed they were in a tent, but on the outside, it looked like any other tent, on the inside, it seemed larger, and far more luxurious, they had a large bed, with a desk, and everything a normal room came with, except for a shower, but that was something they could live without.

"Wow…this is amazing!" Twilight said, as she walked forward, and set her bag on the bed, Flame still had the shocked look on his face, Twilight simply laughed, at his amazement, for the next hour, they went about, unpacking their supplies.

Suddenly a soldier, peered inside the tent, catching their attention, "lady Twilight and lord Flame, lord Silver has requested your presence at dinner" he said before, he left, Twilight and Flame, were equally shocked by such a formal greeting, Twilight looked at Flame, with a smile, "I think it's going to take a while, to get used to the whole, lady and lord thing" she said before she got off the bed, and walked outside the tent.

As the soldier led them to the table, they came across the middle of the camp, where they saw two major tables, at one sat, all the soldiers that had accompanied them, and at the other, they saw Silver and his family, along with Twilight's friend's and brother, sitting there.

When Silver saw them, he smiled, "ah good you're here, please sit, the food is superb" Silver said, gesturing to the seats, in front of them, they took their seats, they looked down at the food, and slowly levitated their forks, into the plate before them, they first smelled it, and it was probably the best thing they have ever smelled.

They slowly put the forks in their mouths, and chewed; to them it was the best meal they have ever tasted, and they eagerly ate more of it, "this is the best meal, I have ever eaten" Twilight said, while putting another fork full in her mouth.

Silver smiled and responded, "Well, we have the finest chef's, we tend to camp a lot, so we need filling meals to keep our energy up" Silver said, eating another fork full as well.

As they continued eating, the others carried on talking, Twilight was silent, she had wanted to ask, Silver a certain question, and she chose now, to do so.

She cleared her throat, catching everypony's attention, including Silver's, "um excuse me Silver, but you never did tell us, where we were headed" Twilight asking, looking across the table at him, Silver's smile disappeared, as all eyes fell on him, he looked over to her.

Before he answered, he looked over to his uncle, who was looking back at him, with a warning gaze, he sighed and turned his attention back to the others, "well, before I told you that, I would have to tell you our history" he said before, clearing his throat.

"the guardians go back as far as the beginning of Equestria" he said first, and his reply was a large amount of gasps, from the others, but he continued none the less, "it was back when Equestria, was still fighting to establish itself as a nation, after the defeat of Discord, the Princess's did all they could to bring their new kingdom, out of the darkness, but it wasn't easy, they faced war, his name was Shadow Blaze, he was once their court wizard, but after a terrible accident, he changed, and betrayed them, he believed that the Princesses were unworthy for the throne, he went into exile for years, but returned with an army, and challenged the Princess's rule, the war was devastating, it lasted many years, it nearly consumed the whole world, they immediately did everything in their power to stop him, they discovered an ancient power, you may know them as the Elements of Harmony, the elements chose six ponies, to stop the war, after practice and training they stood up to Shadow, and in a final climatic battle, they defeated him, and his army and imprisoned them deep within the planet, hoping one day that he would not return, in return for their service, after they all passed away, the Princess's built six shrines, and dotted them across Equestria, and they still stand their today, and so they wait for the elements to choose new hosts" he said.

As he looked around, their expressions showed their shock and amazement, Flame was the first to speak, "but that doesn't explain, your story?" he said with a curious eye, "yes, the legend says, that two ponies were chosen to serve and protect, the original hosts, they became the first guardians, my line goes back to the servant of the original host for the element of magic, over the centuries they waited for the elements to choose again, only a guardian knows the location of each shrine, my father taught me everything I needed to know to be grand master, until his sudden death, a few years ago, our first destination, is the shrine of magic, deep in the forest, hidden so no strange, lost pony might find it by accident" he said finally finishing his story.

"wow… well I'm sorry for your loss" Flame said, with a sad look, one that they all shared, "thank you, for your concern, but it was many years ago, normally at the age I was, when my father died, I would have been too young to be grand master, and it would have fallen to my uncle, but he turned it down, and so I came to power at a young age, and my uncle is my advisor" he said looking from Flame to all the others.

"what's your story, mister Sky Breeze, are you really Silver's uncle" Shining Armor said, speaking for the first time, since Silver started telling his story, he chuckled, "not by blood, but Silver's father, was my greatest friend, he was like my brother, Silver's right, I would have been the one to take command, but I turned it down, and Silver rightfully took his place, and now I watch him, to make sure he doesn't make any foolish mistakes" he said looking over to Silver with a smile on his face.

Silver returned it, and looked back to Twilight, and her friends, "yes, and over the years, I have been doing what my father would have wanted, and someday, when my time in this world ends, Comet here will take my place as grand master, just as his ancestors have, for many years" Silver said, looking at his son, "when that day comes dad, I will be ready" he said standing up in a proud position, Silver simply smiled, and levitated his watch in front of him, and his eyes grew wide.

"well, telling stories makes time fly, excuse me, but we must be getting rest, as should all of you, we have a big day ahead of us, and a long journey" Silver said, standing up, as he was followed by his wife, son, and uncle to their tents.

Soon everpony said their goodnights, and made their way to their tents, and went to sleep, as Flame and Twilight crawled into bed, Twilight sighed, as she pulled the covers up to her chin, and watched Flame crawl in next to her, "still, so suspicious, about him now" she said with a smile, Flame smiled back and turned to her, "no, I had a talk with him, I openly admit I was wrong, you happy now" he said as he kissed her goodnight, and he reached up and turned out the lights, and they drifted off into a deep sleep.

**A/N: well that is probably the longest chapter so far, but oh well, they will probably be like that from now on, maybe even longer, it depends. See you all next time, to see their adventure continue.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: it actually took longer than I thought to write this chapter, but besides that, everybody enjoy.**

**Return of the Shadow league: chapter 6: promises and memories**

The next morning, Twilight and Flame, were awoken by a trumpet, sounding off from outside the camp, knowing they couldn't go back to sleep, they lazily crawled out of bed, and got ready for their next day of traveling.

When they left the tent, they saw soldiers, packing up their own tents, under supervision of Silver and his wife; they decided to see what was going on.

"Hey Silver, what is going on, it's still early" Flame said, in a tired voice, as they walked up to him, he chuckled and turned to face them, "oh yes, I forgot, you aren't like us, we always wake up early" Silver said as he looked at both of them.

When they turned around, they saw a group of soldiers, pack up their tent, and haul it onto a cart, much to their surprise, they then notices, Shining Armor and Cadence walking up to them, they also seemed sleepy, from their rude awakening, much to Twilight and Flame's amusement.

They were soon quickly followed by Twilight's friends, who all looked equally annoyed, by the sudden and rude awakening, but none more so than Rarity, who began complaining about her beauty sleep, also to their amusement.

Suddenly they were interrupted, by Comet walking up to his dad, "everything's packed up, dad, and we're ready to move out" Comet said, his father smiled and turned to him, "excellent work son, give the order to move out, we will follow" he said, and comet ran off to find his great uncle.

Silver turned back to the other's, "come, we must get going, we need to make it to the shrine, we have at least two days left, and we need to cover as much ground as possible" Silver said, as he turned and followed, the convoy of troops, quickly followed by his wife.

Twilight turned to the other's, and then turned back and followed Silver, as they again disappeared, into the eerie forest.

(Later that day…)

After traveling for what seemed, like hours, they finally heard Silver give the order, for the convoy to stop, "alright! We rest for an hour, eat lunch, drink water, and then we get back walking" Silver said, before he walked off, to join his family, everpony sighed with relief, but none more so than rarity, who was complaining the entire way.

Soon after, Silver himself, walked up to them, levitating a tray of sandwiches, and other sorts of food, much to their joy, who gladly accepted it, and started eating, Silver joined in, much to their surprise, "shouldn't you, be eating with your family?" Twilight asked, with a curious eye, as she looked at him.

He looked up to her, with a smile, "well your right, but I thought, it would be nice of me to eat with you, and see if you had any more questions" he said as he took another bite of his sandwich, Twilight felt satisfied with his answer, and continued eating, until a new question, came to mind.

"Um Silver, do you know the exact route, to this shrine" Twilight asked again, this particular question, caught his slightly off guard, but he answered none the less, "Yes I do, as a young colt, whenever I wasn't training in combat with my father, I was studying, you might say, that I was a workaholic, but after all these years, the path is still in my memory" he said looking up to her.

His answer, interested Twilight, as she looked him up and down, she asked a daring question, "what was your father like?" she asked, and when she did, their little group, fell completely silent, and all eyes went to Silver, who's smile disappeared, as he looked up at her.

He then looked back down at the ground, and sighed heavily, Twilight feared, that she might have offended him, until he raised his head again, "it's been a long time, since…since I've talked about my father" Silver said, with a sad look in his eyes, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked" Twilight said lowering her head shamefully, but Flame put a hoof on her shoulder, comforting her.

But he quickly cleared his throat, "no it's okay, I guess it's about time you hear, my story" he said as he got in a comfortable position, and sighed heavily, "okay…my father, was the greatest unicorn, I have ever known, he was smart, wise, and a great leader, he taught me everything I know, he was the greatest father, I could have ever asked for, even when I was young and naïve, he was always patient with me, never yelled at me, he always knew the right choice to make, if only Comet was around to know his grandfather, I only hope, that one day, I can be as great a leader as he was" Silver said, as a single tear, formed in his eye.

Twilight and the other's , were all equally shocked, until Cadence broke the silence, "your father sounds like he was a great pony" she said with a kind smile, one that Silver returned, "indeed he was, my mother was very sad when he passed, but I was there to comfort her" Silver said, suddenly he looked to his watch, and cleared his throat, "well, it's time we set out again, we are only a day's travel, from the shrine, and you best prepare yourself, Miss Sparkle" he said as he turned and left the group, to give the soldiers, the order to pack up.

Twilight was left confused, by Silver's story, there was a part, Silver was hiding, but she didn't know what, she pushed that thought aside, as she got up, and began walking with the other's.

(Later that night…)

After another few hours of traveling, they finally made, it to another clearing in the forest, this one was much bigger than the last, and allowed them to spread out the tents more, after camp was set up, they all found their assigned tents, and got settled in for the night.

Flame, was out for a nighttime walk, when he saw Shining Armor, outside the camp, staring at the moon, from atop a small hill, not far, he decided to see what was up.

Shining Armor sat there, with a worried look on his face, as he stared at the moon, he was worried for the safety of his wife, and his sister, he didn't know what, Silver had planned, but it was worrying him, more than anything had before.

He lost his train of thought, when he heard a voice from behind, "well, looks who out for a late might walk, what's wrong with you?" Flame asked as he stepped up beside, him, Shining Armor, was still taller, than Flame, but not by much.

"oh me, nothing, just thinking, it's my fault, this has happened, if only I was there sooner, I could have protected, the Princess's, but I failed them, I failed my duty as captain" Shining Armor said, as he looked down shamefully, he felt a hoof on his shoulder, and looked up, to see Flame.

"no it's not, how were you, supposed to see this coming, nopony saw it coming, you can't beat yourself up for this" Flame, said trying to comfort him, and luckily it worked, but he couldn't answer.

"What are you two doing out here?" a voice asked from behind them, they turned around, and saw Silver's wife, Sapphire, walking up to them, with a suspicious look in her eyes, they did their best to act innocent.

"Oh…we were just having a little chat" Shining Armor said, with a fake smile, and Flame followed his lead, Sapphire's suspicion grew, "well, if you were just having a little chat, then I hope you don't mind me interrupting, come I need to speak with you in private" she said turning around and walking back to camp, they both turned to each other, with worried looks, and followed her.

(Back at camp)

When they arrived, Sapphire lead them, into a tent, that they thought was hers, but it turned out to be, a spare tent, that was unpacked in case of emergency, as they walked in, she gestured for them to sit, in two of the seats, that were in the idle of the tent, "would you like a drink?" she asked as she stepped over and poured some red liquid, into three glasses, and levitated it over to the two nervous stallions.

She hoped into the single seat across from them, and took a sip of her drink, and looked at them, "no need to be nervous, I'm not going to bite" she said, with a sly smile, this only made them more nervous, much to her amusement.

"Now then, the real reason I called you hear, is because, I have noticed your great concern for the safety of Miss Sparkle" she said taking another sip, of her drink, this comment, diminished their nervousness, and replaced it with interest.

"well of course we are, she's my wife, and his sister, why wouldn't we be" Flame asked now more curious than nervous, "yes, and I understand your concern, but believe me when I say, that my husband, will do nothing to bring her harm, it is the reason I married him, we have known each other since we were foals, and I have always admired him, and when his father passed away, I was there to comfort him, and when he became grand master, we got married" she finished taking a break, she looked over to them, and saw shocked faces.

"believe me, I knew the dangers I would be put in, but I love Silver, more than I feared death,…you might say that is something out of a cheesy romance novel, and when Comet and Blazing Star were born, we both knew the dangers they would be put in, but make no mistake, they are very smart and wise, for their young age, and they know the dangers their parents go through, it's a rough life, I wonder, sometimes how they handle it, but they do" she said, with a sigh.

The look in their eyes, told her everything, Flame was the first to react, by putting down his still full glass down on the table, "well Miss Sapphire, thank you for that story, but it's late and we need to get to sleep" Flame said getting up and waling past her followed by Shining Armor, "of course, sorry if I kept you" she said as she walked out behind them.

(Other side of camp)

Silver himself, was back in his tent, looking over a map, of their location, and that of the first shrine, but he couldn't concentrate, the question Twilight asked early, was still stuck in his head, finally giving up in concentrating, he rolled up the map with his magic, and pushed into a drawer in his desk, when he did that, he noticed a familiar booklet, inside the same drawer, he brought it out with his magic and set it on the desk, and opened it, he realized, it was an old photo album, he made with Sapphire, when they first got married.

He opened it, and began flipping through the pages, he came across old photos, of him as a young colt, the day he first met Sapphire, the day he was born, and he continued to flip through the pages, he found one particular picture, that brought back many memories, it was a picture of him, as a young colt, with his father and mother, standing behind him, he smiled as he remembered that day, all too well.

(Flashback, guardian's sanctuary) 10 years ago

It was a calm day, and a chilly breeze blew through the mountains, Silver was training with his father in combat, "alright son, remember what you learned, and you will do fine" his father said, with a smile, Silver, was trying to learn, a counter attack, he failed the first few times, but was getting better.

He charged forward, straight at his target, but he made a crucial mistake, as he jumped into the air at the wrong time, his father took advantage of his mistake, and grabbed his hoof and his chest, he swung him around, and through him to the ground.

He grunted in pain, as his father looked over him, normally he would have cried out in pain, but he was used to pain, so it didn't bother him too much, his father leaned down, and looked him in the eyes, "remember Silver, you must always expect your opponents next move, if you do that, you can win any fight" he said as he helped him up, only to see his mother coming out of the large building.

She walked up to his father, "what is it?" he asked, her with a curious face, "Sky Breeze needs to speak to you" she said, before she turned and hugged her son, "right, well Silver, what did we learn?" he said leaning down to his son, "always, expect your opponents next move" Silver repeated, his father's lesson.

"yes, and remember, a great leader, always listens to his heart, do that and you can be the greatest leader the guardians, have ever known, no go find your friend Sapphire, I need to speak with your uncle" his father said, before he walked off, followed by his mother, Silver also ran off, in search of his friend.

(End flashback)

Silver smiled as he remembered that day, he flipped to the next page, and saw the picture of him and Sapphire, at the guardian's ball, he remembered that night, as the one he proposed to Sapphire, but another painful memory reentered his mind, as he remembered the painful days that followed.

(Flashback, guardian's sanctuary) 7 years ago

Silver impatiently paced back and forth, in his quarters, he was waiting for the news, of his father, in the days before, his father grew sick, with a terrible illness, and the doctors did everything they could, but failed, all they could do was try to ease his passing.

Suddenly the door burst open, and in walked his fiancée Sapphire, she ran up to him, and wrapped her hooves around his neck, a gesture he greatly returned, "I heard about what happened, I'm so sorry, how are you holding up?" she asked with heavy concern, Silver was near crying by that time, he tried to hold it in, whenever Sapphire was around, he couldn't do it, he let he tears fall from his eyes.

They were interrupted, when the door opened again, and two guards came in and bowed, "lord Silver, your father is awake, he wishes to speak to you" they said, Silver sighed and let go of Sapphire, he dried his eyes and walked out, followed by her, and then the guards.

When he reached the, he sighed heavily and pushed it open, the room was not very populated, only his mother, uncle, and other members on his father's counsel, he walked up to his uncle, who had a very sad look in his eyes, after that he walked up to his mother, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, when she turned and saw him, she got up and walked over to him, and wrapped her hooves, and pulled him into a hug.

He heard her crying into his shoulder, but who could blame her, she was losing her husband, she let go, and gestured to the bed, on it lay his father, gently wrapped in the blankets, his eyes barely open, he walked over to him, and sat on the bed, he could hear his father gently whispering his name, he grabbed his hoof, "I'm here father" he said, trying not to let his voice crack.

His father turned his head to face him, "Silver, my son" he said in a weak voice, Silver lightly tightened his grip, "Silver, my time in this world is ending, the time has come for you to take my place, as grand master…the guardians need a strong leader, you can be that leader Silver, if you follow your heart" he continued on in a weak voice, tears began to accumulate in Silver's eyes, as he listened to his father's last words.

"my son, our line has always lead the guardians, with wisdom and strength, and you can follow that path, remember your lessons, and you will be the greatest leaders the guardians have ever known, when all seems dark, and you feel lost, trust your heart, it will not fail, I will always be with you Silver, right here" his father aid, as his voice grew weaker, tears began to appear in his eyes as well, he reached up with a shaky hoof, and placed it on Silver's chest, over his heart, silver grabbed it, and looked him in the eyes, as tears spilled down his cheeks.

"I will father, I won't let you down, I'll make you proud" Silver said, his voice finally cracking, tears spilled down his father s face as well, his father tried to smile, but due to his extremely weakened state, it was almost impossible, "you already have, I watched with pride, as you grew into the strong and wise unicorn you are now, if I have any regrets, it's that I won't be here to see you become what you were meant to be, you are the greatest son a father could ask for, take care of your mother and Sapphire, goodbye Silver, my son" his father said, as his eyes slowly closed, and his hoof fell from Silver's, Silver instantly knew, that he was dead. His father was dead.

The sorrow became too much, as Silver cried silently, into the bed sheets, the whole room fell silent, as Silver cried, nopony bothered to approach him, after what seemed like, an hour, Silver rose from his position, with a solemn face, he readjusted his father's hoof into a more peaceful position, without saying a word, he turned and walked past the others, he didn't even make eye contact with Sapphire, he left the room, and closed the door behind him.

(End flashback)

Silver let a single tear fall from his eyes, ever since then he tried to forget that day, but something always brought it back, it was the first time he cried in many years, he was interrupted, when he heard the tent open, from the front, in walked his wife, with a calm face, she noticed the sad look in his eyes and walked over to him.

She saw the picture, of that day, and realized what he was thinking about, "it wasn't your fault" she said, as she used her magic, to close the book, and put it back in the desk, "I know, you're right, but it's just, that…I miss him, so much, if only he was here for this, to see his grandchildren, to meet the elements" he said as he got up and walked to the other side of the tent.

She walked over to him again, and out a hoof on his shoulder, "I know, I miss him too, your father was a great pony, and I'm sure, Comet and Blazing Star would have loved to meet their grandfather, but that is something we can't change" she said walking in front of him, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his, this gesture always put him in a better mood, she separated her lips, and hugged him.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, before letting go, they looked into each other's eyes, "come on, let's go to bed, we all have a big day tomorrow", and with that they both went to sleep, with Silver feeling much better.

**A/N: well we go deeper, into Silver's history, come back next time, to see what happens when Twilight and her friends arrive at the shrine of magic.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long, here is the next chapter.**

**Return of the Shadow League: chapter 7: the shrine of magic**

The next morning, Silver and Sapphire woke up bright and early, they needed to get camp packed up, and continue on their way, as they walked out of the tent, they saw Twilight and Flame, already up and waiting for them, much to their surprise.

"Well, you actually managed to get up, before us, I'm impressed" Silver said as they walked up to them, they both turned and smiled, "yeah, well, we would rather get up early, than be rudely awakened, by that trumpet" Twilight said with a smile on her face, they all laughed.

"Alright then, we need to get camp packed up, so we can head out, lieutenant!" Silver called out, and shortly after he did, a soldier, dressed in the traditional, guardian armor, ran up to him, and bowed, in respect, "yes my lord, what do you need" he said still bowing, Silver turned to him, "have the troops pack up camp, I want to be gone, In one hour" he said looking at the soldier, he quickly rose from his position, gave a salute, and ran off, in the other direction.

He quickly turned back, to Flame and Twilight, "I suggest you two, go and make sure your friends are awake, you all have a big day" he said as he turned and walked away, with his wife, Twilight and Flame turned to each other, nodded and walked off to find their friends.

(Later that day…)

After camp had been packed up, they headed out. Silver continued to follow the map, that he studied as a young colt, even though it was fresh in his mind, after all these years, he still didn't take any chances.

They traveled for what seemed like hours, much to their disappointment, at one point, Flame felt like asking if Silver even knew where they were going, but decided to keep his mouth shut, since he didn't know either.

They all felt as though they had been lost, until they arrived at the edge of the forest itself, the only thing in front of them, was the beginning of the mountains, so they decided to make camp here, "alright, make camp here" Silver shouted to the exhausted ponies behind him, even the troops, who had been used to long distance travels, fell to the ground, and sighed happily.

Flame and Twilight, soon walked up to Silver, who was busy looking over the map, with great interest, "hey Silver, I thought you said we would be there, by the end of the day, so where is it?" Flame asked curiously, Silver merely turned around with a smile on his face.

"oh, we're here alright, it's at the top of the cliff" he said before his wife and son walked up to him, "everything's unpacked dad" Comet said, as he looked up at his father, he smiled down at him, "good job son, now we need to go" Silver said before walking past them, "Mrs. Sparkle, you and your friends must come with me" Silver said, turning to them with a serious face.

"Wait, where are we going, you said it's at the top of the cliff, but there's no way up there" Flame said worriedly, as he ran up to Silver, silver chuckled, as they rounded a corner, and revealed a secret path, that lead to the top of the cliff, "you were saying" Silver said with a smile, as he walked up the path, it has never been used, in a thousand years, so the path, was very risky, if one fell, they would certainly die.

After making their way across the treacherous path, they found themselves, on top of the cliff, when they looked down, they saw the camp, a couple yards away, when they reached the spot, on the cliff above the camp, Silver halted them and brought the map up to his face, "so where is this, shrine you've been talking about?" Shining Armor said, with an irritated glance.

Silver turned to him, with a smile, and laughed, "my friends, what do you see here" he said, pointing to his side, they all looked, but were confused by what he meant, "it's the side of a mountain" Flame answered, with a clueless expression, Silver nodded, and walked up to the mountain, and placed a hoof on it, and slowly moved it across the rocky exterior.

"Yes, remember when I said, that the shrine's, were hidden so that no traveler may find them by accident, only a guardian can find the shrines" he said, as he felt a loose rock, and gently applied pressure, slowly the rock was pushed in, much to their amazement, and quickly Silver turned it clockwise, at first nothing happened, until they heard a large clicking sound.

Suddenly he ground around them started to shack, nearly throwing them off their hooves, suddenly a large part of the rock, slid to the side, and revealed what seemed to be an old tunnel, when they all got up, Silver's smile only grew wider, as he gestured them to go in, at first they were all hesitant, but they went in, followed by Silver, and his family.

Inside the tunnel, they saw nothing but some burnt out torches, which were placed along the wall, and cobwebs, that served as the only decorations, the air inside, was thick, and full of dust, they realized that this tunnel hadn't been opened in at least a thousand years.

As they walked further in, the tunnel seemed to widen, and eventually became a full room, with enough space to fit the entire group inside, and still leave plenty of moving space, they stared around in awe, at the vast empty room, around them, suddenly out of nowhere, the large door behind them shut, leaving them trapped inside the room, with no escape, and no source of light.

"hey, what happened, where's the light switch, I can see anything" they all heard Rarity cry out, she got her answer, when the torches on the far side of the room lit up, followed by the next pair, and the pair after that, they continued this chain, as if they were being lit by some strange source, soon all the torches were lit, and revealed the rest of the room.

When they adjusted their eyes to the bright light, they looked around and saw the entire interior of the room had changed; the walls were all decorated with shiny gold chains, which glimmered in the light of the torches.

When they turned around, Twilight and her friends immediately ran to the door, and tried to push it open, but found it sealed shut, as if something was holding it closed, "why won't it open?" Shining Armor said, as he pushed against the door, with all his might, but to no avail.

"Because, we aren't supposed to leave" they heard Silver say, who was on the other side of the room, when they turned around, they saw him and his family standing in front of a large statue, on the other side of the room, suddenly interested Twilight and her friends, walked away from the door, and up to Silver, who was intently staring at the statue, as if it was hypnotizing him.

The statue portrayed an old unicorn, standing in a proud position; they couldn't tell the color of his coat, due to the stone, that had lost its color over the years, they noticed a saddle bag draped over his side, with a few books packed inside, they couldn't make out the titles either.

On top of his head, was a crown, which resembled Twilight's tiara, which she found after she used her element to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord. Underneath the statue, was a large stone coffin. The inscription on it was too hard to make out, due to the cracked stone.

Twilight walked up in wonder, as soon as she set eyes on it, she couldn't take them off, she looked on in amazement, at the object before her, she felt drawn to it somehow, but she couldn't explain why.

"who is he?" Twilight asked, still staring at the statue, Silver turned away, and looked at her, finally pulling her eyes away from it, she looked into his eyes, and he smiled, "he was your predecessor, the original element of magic, his name was Midnight Star" silver said with a calm face.

She turned back to the statue momentarily, and again looked back at silver, "what happens now" she asked, wanting to know the answer, Silver smiled and looked back at her.

"now, you must approach the statue, speak clearly and show no fear" Silver said, but Flame was getting tired of this, "hold on, what is this all about, what are you trying to pull here, we have no idea what could happen" Flame said half angry, half scared.

Silver sighed and turned to him, "Flame, I understand your concern, but this is no time to argue, if we want to defeat Shadow Blaze, this is the only way" Silver said, with a serious face, Twilight stepped forward, in front of him.

She smiled, but he looked into her eyes with a worried expression, "please don't, you don't know what might happen" Flame said, with the slightest hint of tears in his eyes, she still smiled, and pressed their lips together, silencing all his worries; they separated, and looked into each other's eyes.

"I know Flame, I'm scared to, but I'll be fine, I love you" she said as she backed up, "I love you too" he said quietly, as he watched her approach the statue, when she was a mere yard or two, away from the statue she leaned down, into the best bow she could give, at first nothing happened.

Then, suddenly out of nowhere, something happened that both shocked and frightened all off them, except Silver, and his family, who remained calm, _"speak your name and intentions"_ came a loud booming voice, that had no specific place of origin, soon everpony, looked around nervously, searching for the source, of the strange voice, Twilight herself, was trembling in fear, but she remembered what Silver said, and breathed out a shaky breath, and spoke.

"my name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, and bearer of the element of magic, I have come to learn in the ways of harmony" she said, trying to sound brave, at first she received no response, then suddenly, the entire cave began to shake violently, nearly throwing all of them off their hooves.

As they tried to get up, they were blinded by a bright light that forced them to cover their eyes, and just as quickly as it started the shacking quickly stopped, and they all got back on their hooves, and looked around, "is everpony okay?" Shining Armor asked, while looking around, he got multiple replies, as they all got back together.

When they looked around, back at the statue, they saw that Twilight was nowhere to be found, "Twilight!" Flame yelled as he ran forward, to the spot, where his wife was, nothing more than a scorch mark remained, he frantically looked around, trying to find her, but she was nowhere in sight.

He angrily turned back to Silver, who had a smile on his face, and marched up to him, "what happened to her, where is she" he said almost yelling, as he came right up to him, Silver chuckled and turned to face him, "calm yourself Flame, I can assure you, she is fine, he has taken her to his world, where he will train her how, to properly use her element" Silver said, as he walked past them.

During their argument, they hadn't noticed, that the entrance to the cave, had reopened, and the afternoon sun, poured light into the dark cave, "how long would she be gone" Shining Armor asked, seeming a lot more calm then Flame, who was still angry.

Silver stopped and said, "it depends, he can put twenty years of training into one day, it all depends on how fast a learner she is, now would you rather stay here, and wait for here, or we can go back to camp and rest" he said as he walked out of the cave, quickly followed by the other's and a reluctant Flame.

(Unknown location)

Twilight opened her eyes, and was immediately blinded by a white light, and forced to cover her eyes, she felt a massive pain in her head, as she tried to get up, she failed, and fell flat on her stomach, she tried again and succeeded, she looked around, and saw nothing, nothing more than a big empty white space, her fear grew as she frantically looked around, in search of a sign of life, or anything.

"Am I dead?" she asked herself, and when she did, she crumpled to the ground, and started to cry, she really thought she was dead, she feared she would never see her friends again, or PonyVille, or the Princess's, or even Flame. The thought of never seeing her husband again, alone made her cry.

"_do not cry, Twilight Sparkle"_ she heard a strange voice, say from behind, she got up, and sharply turned around, and saw nothing but the same empty white space. "Who's there, show yourself!" she shouted, into the emptiness, at first she got no response; she began to think it was her imagination, until she heard it again.

"_I am here, and to answer your question, no you are not dead"_ she heard the same voice say from behind, when she turned around, she saw an older stallion, approaching her, she instantly realized that he was a unicorn, and that he remarkably resembled the statue.

"Who are you, where am I?" she asked urgently, the stallion just walked past her, "oh me, I'm just an elderly unicorn passing through, the question is who are you" he asked as he stopped a few feet in front of her, but did not turn to face her, she was slightly thrown off by his question.

"what do you mean, I know who I am, my name is Twilight Sparkle, I was born in Canterlot, I live in PonyVille with my husband, I am the personal student of Princess Celestia, and the element of magic" she said with confidence, the older stallion finally turned, and looked her in the eyes, the way he looked at her, made Twilight more and more nervous.

"The element of magic you say, well it's an honor to meet you" he said bowing in front of her, Twilight became more and more confused, by the minute, "aren't you Midnight Star" she asked curiously, when she did, he rose from his position, and walked around her, slowly forming a circle, much to Twilight's discomfort, "so you know who I am, well Twilight Sparkle, you are smarter than you look" he said as he slowly circled her.

"so you think you are the element of magic" he said stopping in front of her, "yes, my friends and I, used them to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord" she said, trying to sound confident. He leaned in closer, and observed her, more closely, the close proximity between them, made her more and more nervous, as beads of sweat rolled down her face.

Shortly after, he backed up, and gave her space, much to her relief, he chuckled to himself, and looked her in the eyes, "we shall see" he said walking past her, and stopped, "only one with a pure heart, can master the element of magic, once you do, you become stronger" he said turning around to face her, his expression no longer calm, but dead serious.

He slowly walked around her, "in my time, the world was torn apart by war, Shadow Blaze wanted to control everything, and he was willing to destroy the world to do so" he said with a solemn look on his face, "but you stopped him in the end, you restored peace with the elements of harmony" Twilight said, as she got up from her sitting position, but he shot her a glare, that made her sit back down, silently.

"yes we did, but many good ponies died in that war, I still feel that it is partially my fault, after that, I devoted my life, to practice and meditation, until my death, thousands of years ago, and since then I have helped protect the ponies of this kingdom from threats, and now the elements have chosen new ponies, you do not know the responsibility, of the title you have been given" he said as he turned to her.

"That is why I am here, to learn from you, teach me how to use the element of magic, so that I might help my friends defeat Shadow Blaze" Twilight said bowing in front of him, he was slightly surprised, "hmm…you are indeed a strong young unicorn, perhaps you do have what it takes, but taking this path is not an easy one, and when you do, you can't go back, it might change you" he said as he looked down at her, "I will do anything to protect my friends and family, I'm ready" she said still in a bowing position, he smiled at her, "very well then, Twilight Sparkle, let your lessons begin" he said, with a smile, Twilight rose from her bowing position, and smiled back.

(Real world, guardian's camp)

Back at camp, everpony was busy, eating their dinner, the sun had now almost completely set for the night, the shadow of the mountain, cast itself over the camp.

While everpony, was eating their dinner, and talking amongst themselves, Flame sat quietly, on the other side of the table, nopony seemed to notice until now, "hey what's wrong darling, no need to worry, I'm sure Twilight is fine" Rarity said trying to comfort him, he knew she was right, but something inside him, kept him worrying, "she's right Flame, she's my sister, and I'm not letting it get to me, because I know she is alright" Shining Armor said from across the table.

"they are speaking the truth, Twilight will return to us in time, that I can promise" Silver said, looking over at Flame, suddenly as soon as he said, that a large quake shook the table, they all had to hold it down to prevent the food from flying off, shortly after it stopped, and they all relaxed.

Silver looked up at Flame, who was frantically looking around, and smiled, "well Flame it looks like your wish came true" he said as he got up from the table, and took off in the direction of the hidden passage, the other's quickly followed suit.

When they reached the edge of camp, Silver gathered them up, "let's take the shortcut" he said as he closed his eyes, and his horn glowed, and suddenly they vanished, they quickly reappeared in front of the cave, that lead to the shrine, a bright light was shining out of the cave, causing them to cover their eyes.

Suddenly the light died down, and they looked into the cave, at first they saw nothing, but then they saw movement inside, and a shape started to form, and when it came into view, it turned out to be a familiar lavender unicorn.

As she came further out, they all noticed the tiara, was on her head, Flame didn't notice, he was too busy almost crying at the sight of his beloved wife, he ran to her and stopped in front of her, she looked him in the eyes, "Twilight is that you?" Flame asked, nearly crying, at first she didn't answer, but suddenly she leaned forward, and hugged him, which he gladly returned.

"I thought I'd never see you again" he said as he hugged her, she smiled at him, "I said I would be fine" she answered back, as all her friends came up to get their hugs, after a series of greetings, Silver walked up to her, with a warming smile on his face.

"Congratulations Twilight, you did it, how do you feel?" he asked, after he did, she fell down to the ground, and laughed, "I guess all that training, left me pretty weak, I need to sleep" she said getting tired, and yawning.

"Flame, get her back to camp, let her rest" he said as he led the way back, as soon as they arrived back at camp, a few minutes later, she immediately headed back to the tent, and collapsed on the bed, and instantly fell asleep, Flame quietly crawled in beside her, and wrapped his front hooves around her and pulled her close, and went to sleep himself.

**A/N: wow that was the longest chapter I have written yet, well hoped you all enjoyed, see you next time. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: well I'm back, this is one of the last chapters of this part, so hope you all enjoy.**

**Return of the Shadow League: chapter 8: shadow rising**

As Princess Celestia, finally regained consciousness, she tried to open her eyes, and when she did, she could barely see, her vision was blurred, using what remained of her strength, she tried to stand up, when she did, she was met with a sharp pain in the head.

Slowly her vision returned to her, so did the events that recently occurred, she remembered them, as if they were a dream, one terrible dream, she tried her best again to get up, she finally stood on her hooves, and when she looked around, she instantly noticed that she was no longer in the castle, but inside a large metal structure.

She raised her hoof, up to rub her throbbing head, but her hoof stopped mid-way, and she heard the clinking of metal, when she looked down, she saw her hoof was chained, when she looked down at her other hooves, she noticed that they were all chained, she tried to pull at them, but they didn't budge.

She suddenly heard moaning coming from behind her, she turned and saw Luna, lying on the floor, behind her, her hooves also chained up, "Luna!" she cried out as she rushed over to her sister's side, when Luna lifted her head, and looked up, she rubbed her eyes, trying to focus, "Tia, what is this, where are we?" she asked tugging at the chains, and looking around.

"I don't know, I can't seem to remember, hold on, let me try something" she said, as she bent her head down, and touched the chain, with the tip of her horn, and closed her eyes, the tip started to glow, as she closed her eyes, at first nothing happened, so she tried harder, her horn, glowed brighter, as she closed her eyes tighter, still no effect.

She collapsed to the ground, as the pain in her head returned, "Tia!, Are you alright?" Luna said as she walked up to her sister, Celestia pushed herself, back up on her hooves, and looked down at her, "yes, I'm fine" she said, as she turned and looked around.

After that, they both started looking around, as they turned to the front, they saw a massive window, and the clouds calmly passing by, but that wasn't what caught their attention, it was the large pony, standing in front of it.

"hello, where are we, what is this?" Celestia asked, facing the strange pony, this caught his attention, as he turned around, revealing a pony, that only came in their nightmares, "ah, good your awake, I was starting to think I hurt you too bad" Shadow Blaze said, as he fully turned to face them, both the Princess's blood ran cold, at the sight of the pony before them.

But soon Celestia's anger flared, as she took a fighting position, "you!, where are we, what is the meaning of this" she asked angrily as her horn glowed brightly, Shadow simply smiled, "I wouldn't do that if I were you" he said with a sinister smile.

She ignored him, as she bent down, and shot a powerful blast of magic, right in his direction, he stood perfectly still, the beam was half way to him, until it stopped and collided with an invisible barrier, suddenly a green wall, appeared around, them, they realized they were trapped, inside a barrier, Shadow chuckled to himself, as he started walking around them.

"Nice isn't it, a simple shield spell, only I changed its effect, normally it wouldn't let anything in, now nothing can get out" he said with a broad smile, Celestia and Luna glared angrily at him, as he continued circling him, "what is it you want?" Celestia asked, trying to suppress her rage, he noticed this and smiled.

"you already know what I want, to take what is rightfully mine" he said as he completed a full circle around them, and turned to face them, "if that's true, why keep us alive" Celestia asked, fearing his answer, he smiled widely, as he turned around, "can you guess where we are?" he said, looking forward, when he heard no response he continued.

"we are on board the Crimson Sky, the crown jewel of the Equestrian Air Force fleet, followed by all the other sir ships in the fleet, our current destination is PonyVille" he said turning back to them, they had looks of pure horror on their faces, much to his amusement.

"so to answer your question, I'm keeping you alive, so you can witness the fall of your beloved kingdom, with your own two eyes, I will burn this kingdom to the ground, and you will watch helplessly, so you can see the mistakes you made not preparing for this day, in fact we should be arriving over PonyVille, in a matter of seconds" he said as he turned to the front of the ship.

Suddenly they heard a loud voice, come from overhead, _"sir, we are approaching ponyVille, we shall arrive in 1 minute"_ it said, before it turned off, after that he turned his attention back to the Princess's, who had a very worried expressions.

He smiled at this, as his apprentice Night Wing, walked up behind him and bowed, "Master Shadow Blaze, we have reached our destination, PonyVille is right below us" he said, before getting up, from his position, Shadow looked down at him, with a smile, "excellent work Night Wing, give the order" Shadow said to his apprentice.

Night Wing nodded and walked off, "what is it you plan to do?" Celestia asked, as she looked him in the eyes, he turned to them, with a smile that sent a chill up her spine, "well, your about to find out" he said, as he again turned around, an faced the large window, outside, stood the peaceful town of PonyVille, only it wouldn't last.

Night Wing walked up to the intercom, and spoke, "attention crew, this is Night Wing, your orders are to destroy anything that moves, leave none alive" he said, before he took his hoof off the button, and turned back to the captain of the ship, Shadow Blaze, laughed as he turned his head back to the captured Princess's.

"Now watch, as this pathetic town burns to the ground" he said, before he turned his attention, back to his apprentice, "fire!" he shouted, and Night Wing relayed the message to the rest of the crew.

(Crimson Sky, below deck)

As all the troops got into their positions, they approached the large cannons, and got in the seats, suddenly the commanding officer of the deck came in, "alright, you know what to do" he said, and all the soldiers adjusted the sights before pointing the cannons at the target they were ordered, as they got their targets in sight, they waited for the official order to go, _"fire!"_ came a loud voice over the intercom, the soldiers turned to the launch button, breathed a heavy sigh, and pushed the button.

**A/N: wow that was shorter than I intended it to be, but this is the second to last chapter of this part, but the next will be longer, see you then.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: this if the final chapter for part 2, but do not fear, part 3 will be longer, so…let's do this.**

**Return of the Shadow League: chapter 9: the journey continues**

(Twilight's dream)

When Twilight opened her eyes, she found it hard to focus, so she tried rubbing her eyes, luckily for her it worked, after her vision returned she looked around, and she saw that she was no longer in her tent, at the guardians camp.

She looked forward, and saw a strange green force field, surrounding her; she looked around, and found herself alone, she tried peering outside the strange orb, but only found, a pitch black room, filled only with light from the torches, barely creating enough light, to see.

Suddenly she heard a familiar cry, come from the center of the room, she turned her attention there, and saw a very tall figure, standing over a smaller one, at first she thought it was the Princess, due to its height, but when he turned to the side, her hopes were shattered, instead of the Princess, their stood a large pony, with a jet black coat, and a very dark blue mane, he cutie mark wasn't visible.

Suddenly the smaller pony came into view, and it revealed none other than Flame himself, full of cuts and bruises, she tried calling out to him, but nothing came out, suddenly the taller figure lifted the smaller one with his magic, and threw him hard at the wall, with enough force to break every bone in his body.

When he slammed into the wall, he cried out in pain, to her, it was the worst sound she ever heard, but not as hard as the next one, after he slid to the ground, his body fell limp, and didn't move afterwards, "Flame Nooo!" she cried out as tears spilled down her face.

Suddenly the taller figure turned his attention to her, and slowly approached her, Twilight sunk back in fear, as he came closer, "yes, Twilight Sparkle, no matter what you do, your beloved husband will die, and you can't stop it" it said as it stared down at her, with an evil glare.

Twilight couldn't control her emotions, the pain and fear became too much, she closed her eyes and screamed.

(Reality)

Twilight shot up straight in bed, with a cold sweat running down her face, she frantically looked around, and found herself, safe in her bed, she turned to her side, and found herself alone in the bed, Flame was nowhere to be seen, the terrible sight from her dream still remained in her head, she looked around, and saw the early morning light spilling thought the opening at the other end of the tent.

She slowly crawled out of bed, and wiped the sweat from her brow, she walked over to the entrance, and slowly opened it with her hoof, and the sun temporarily blinded her, she walked outside, and saw the soldiers, slowly packing up camp.

She slowly started walking around camp, looking for Flame, but he was nowhere in sight, she continued her search, until she saw Sky Breeze walking calmly, through the camp, at a brisk pace, so she decided to ask him.

When she cam up to him, she cleared her throat, trying to get his attention, he turned his attention to her with a warm smile on his face, one that she returned, "excuse me, have you seen my husband" she asked, hoping he knew.

He smiled and cleared his throat, "ah yes, your husband is over there talking with Silver" he said pointing over to Silver's tent, "I'm on my way there now, please follow me" he said, before he walked in front of her, it took a few minutes for Twilight to start following him.

As they approached the tent, they heard the sound of multiple voices, locked in conversation, Sky Breeze opened the tent, and walked inside, Twilight saw ponies she instantly recognized, she saw Silver with his wife and son, talking to Flame, and surprisingly Applejack.

When she fully walked in, they all turned to them, and smiled, "ah Twilight, glad you could join us" Silver said with a smile, Flame walked up to her, and kissed her on the forehead, "morning honey, how did you sleep" he asked, with a smile, Twilight decided not to tell them about the nightmare, "oh I slept fine, but why didn't you wake me up" she asked Flame, he smiled, in response.

"well, I noticed you were still fast asleep, and I thought you were still tired, from your training, so I let you sleep in a little" he said with a smile, she smiled at him, and turned her attention to Applejack, "hey Applejack, what are you doing here, and where are the other's" she asked, Applejack was about to answer, but Silver interrupted.

"She's here because, the next shrine on our path, is the shrine of honesty, it's hidden deep in the mountains, we need to make it to the mountain pass, by night fall, it will keep us one step ahead of Shadow's forces" he said walking in front of her.

She was about to answer, until the Lieutenant burst into the tent, obviously out of breath, surprising all of them, "my lord" he said, trying to catch his breath, Silver walked up to him, "calm down Lieutenant, breath and tell what it is you need" Silver said calmly, the Lieutenant, sat there catching his breath.

Shortly after that, he regained his posture, and looked at all the ponies in the tent staring at them, he turned back to Silver, who was patiently waiting for the report, "sir, we have news, Shadow Blaze has launched his first attack" he said, with a sorrowful look, when he did, Silver's smile completely disappeared, and was replaced, with a look of anger.

"What! Where?" Silver said slowly, beads of sweat glided down the Lieutenant's face, as Silver stared him in the eyes, the room fell completely silent, "p-PonyVille sir" he said with a nervous voice, when he did, Silver turned to Twilight and Flame, when she heard it, Twilight raised a hoof up to her mouth, to stifle a gasp.

Silver sighed sadly, and turned back to the nervous soldier, "thank you Lieutenant, you can leave now" Silver said as he turned away, and walked over to his desk, and put his hooves on the surface, instead of speaking the Lieutenant, just nodded and hurried out of the tent.

After he left, a thick silence fell over all of them, as they turned their attention, to Silver, who had his head down, obviously lost in thought, Sapphire tried to approach him, but suddenly he pushed everything off the desk in a fit of rage, "shit!" he yelled as he tore everything off the desk, and it flew to the side.

He sat there, breathing heavily, when his wife walked up, and put a hoof on his shoulder, he looked over at her, and saw the gentle look on her face, but this time it didn't work, he looked away and lightly brushed her hoof off, and walked out of the tent, with his head down, followed by Sapphire and Comet, leaving only Twilight, Flame, Applejack and Sky Breeze, he sighed and turned to them, "I'm so sorry, whenever something goes wrong, Silver puts all the blame on himself, anyway, I suggest you break the news to your friends" he said before he walked out.

Twilight had the faintest hint of tears in her eyes, after hearing the news, she looked up at Flame, who shared her sorrow, without saying a word, and they all walked out.

(Later that day…)

Twilight and Flame had no choice but to break the news to their friends, and their reactions, only made them feel worse, so they spent the next hour packing their supplies, when Silver came out, from his tent, followed by Sapphire, he stopped in the middle of camp, and cleared his throat, loud enough for the whole camp to hear, they all stopped and looked at him.

"soldiers, I want this camp cleaned up, and I want us moving in one hour, we make for the mountain pass" he said, before excusing everpony back to their work, he then walked up to Twilight and Flame, with a sorrowful look.

"I'm sorry if you had any family members in PonyVille, but I can assure you, we will stop Shadow Blaze, before he can strike again, I hope you are ready, we have a long journey ahead of us" he said, before he turned away, and went back to his tent to pack his supplies.

An hour after Silver gave his orders, and camp was packed up, and was leaving camp, their next destination, was the pass, which led through the mountains and to the shrine of honesty, all though they didn't know it, they were being followed by two separate groups, one that wanted to destroy them, and one who has yet to reveal their intentions.

(Outskirts of ponyVille)

A small group of ponies, stood and watched the peaceful town, burn to the ground, as they watched the destruction before them, one of them turned to their leader, "we are in way over our heads this time Dark Star" the pony said, looking at the leader.

The leader removed his hood, but did not turn to face him, "aren't we always, and besides, Flame needs our help, he just doesn't know it" he said as he turned around, and started walking into the Everfree forest, when he realized he want being followed, he turned around, and cleared his throat, catching their attention, "come on, they are days ahead of us, and we need to catch them" he said, as he continued walking.

The other's hesitated, but turned and followed the leader, into the forest, and vanished into the darkness.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3**

**A/N: well that's it for this story, don't worry, the adventure will continue in the next part, can Twilight and her friends, defeat Shadow Blaze, or will they be caught by the gathering storm, that approaches, come back next time to find out.**


End file.
